It's Better Than Stuffed Mezzaluna with Sausage! [Update 4/11: Link to TR!]

[RachelNinja]

Best Vocabulary Sentence

This isn't a typical installment about how I incorporate Disney into my lesson plans, but it's kind of the reverse! One of the homework assignments for the 8th grade this past week in English Language Arts was to write sentences with the new set of vocabulary words. I wanted to share a few of the funny ones, but I have to preface it first.

My students know that I have a boyfriend because I've talked about him last year during Bible class when they were in 7th grade. We openly shared with each other in that class on top of the whole taking notes and taking tests thing. That meant that I opened up to them about parts of my personal life. I never told them his name, however, but one girl randomly blurted out, "Is his name Kevin?" Then another girl said, "No, his name is Paul!" I responded and said that his name was actually "Kevin Paul." It stuck, and now it's so easy to refer to Weird as Kevin Paul in school.

Just a week or two ago, however, the "Kevin" girl found out Weird's real name (didn't realize that my students could access my profile pictures due to the "Friends of Friends" setting I had). I don't mind if the 8th grade knows because they're the class I know the most since I've had them since 6th grade (total of 9 classes including 2 this year!).

All of that just to explain some of the sentences they wrote on their homework! I do replace my name with Miss Ninja instead of my real last name, and I do the same for Weird.

The scant amount of food Miss Ninja has every day makes her wish she had a gallbladder.
I had a cholecystectomy 2 years ago, and I mentioned my struggles with not understanding God's will when I dealt with health issues.

Kevin Paul used his cudgel to fight off the evil ogres.
Haha, cuz I'd be frozen in fear, so he'd have to fight them!

My singing voice is far from mellifluous, but when Miss Ninja and Kevin Paul sing, angels vomit flowers (in a good way).
They know that the two of us lead worship together at church.

As much as Kevin Paul tried to apologize, Miss Ninja ignored him as she peevishly wiped the pie off her face.
Hehe, I was annoyed because it was pie and not an apple turnover from Main Street Bakery! Haha, I really want to try one this year.

"Honey, I'm home," Kevin Paul languidly said to his wife, Mrs. Weird.
Though he may be tired from work in the future, it'd be one day closer to our next Disney trip!

Lastly, here's the BEST sentence of them all!

Because Miss Ninja was languidly walking in the Florida weather in Walt Disney World, Kevin Paul gave her a Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream bar.
How perfect is this sentence?!? I absolutely loved it once I read it. Combining my love for Weird + my love for Disney + my love for well-written sentences, hehe. Of course, Weird and I are both lactose intolerant and can't actually have a Mickey ice cream bar, but maybe we'll just replace ice cream with Dole Whip!

 

[RachelNinja]

DHS Research - Sunset Boulevard

Before I get into the current installment of DHS Research, I was hoping that a few of you lovely readers could help answer a question for me. I don't know if Weird and I will get to the park before rope drop, but if we do, I heard that there are 2 different ways to get to Toy Story Mania. I remember reading somewhere that there are stairs on the right side past the Sorcerer Mickey hat? Something about that being faster than going around and entering by Pixar Place? Is that true? Because I read another TR yesterday that had the person waiting all the way to the left during rope drop, and that would mean going the long way? Haha, I'm really lost!

Anyway, whether we get there during rope drop or not, we're still very excited to go even if it means waiting on the standby line for TSM.

Sunset Blvd

(1) Beauty and the Beast

This will be amazing to see as it will be a "free" (haha, you know, besides the cost of the ticket to get in) Broadway-style play for us to watch!

I've seen B&B on Broadway two times before. The first time was when my aunt scored free tickets from her office so she, my mom, my brother, and I went. The second time was when Donny Osmond was Gaston, and my mom just HAD to go see him! I, of course, went along with her because the show is just that amazing! I've also seen Lion King with that same aunt. She's single and she always needed company for these things, so it worked very well for me!

Anyway, Weird and I tried planning a Disney on Broadway (Lion King and Mary Poppins) show a few times. I also tried securing free tickets for teachers once I got the notice in my mailbox at work. Of course, by the time I was able to get to a computer to email, the tickets were gone. I can't email on my phone so alas, there was no way to get them. So unless we're willing to cough up a ton of money for those orchestra seats, we're not going to see a show anytime soon.

I think watching this show at DHS will be splendid! I can't wait to hear Belle singing "Bonjour." My favorite part, if you've read my favorite songs post a long time ago, is when the baker says, "Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!" I'm also excited to see how the Beast changes back into a human! They obviously make it extremely magical on Broadway (the Beast floats into the air and twirls all around), and I'm curious to know how they do all of these things at DHS. I know that people have posted the show on YouTube, but I don't want to watch it unless I don't get a chance to see it this year in April.

(2) Rock 'n' Roller Coaster

There is absolutely no way that I will ever be riding this coaster! Okay, maybe I should leave a little room for possibility and say that there's a 0.00000001% chance that I'll get on this ride in my life. I know there's a quick start, like a 0 to 60mph. I took a ride on the Backlot Stunt Coaster in King's Dominion in Virginia and that was also one of those quick starts. They had notices up that said to keep your head flat against the headrest when waiting for it to start. The website says it goes up to 40mph so if a 0 to 40 gets me feeling sick, a 0 to 60 is really not for me.

I know RnR will definitely be smoother, but the dizziness I get from coasters that go upside down and the nerves from drops just doesn't fit with me anymore. The main issue is that I just don't want to feel sick from a ride and have it ruin the rest of my day. No thanks!

I will say, however, that out of all the coasters in this world, the only one that I would ever even consider doing in my life at this point is RnR just because it is Disney.

(3) Tower of Terror

Just like RnR, there is absolutely no way that I would get on this ride! I know there are a few of you who think it's the best ride ever and that it's a must do. It just isn't one of those for me! I went on it closer to the time when it initially opened and the drops weren't random. There was the one partial drop and then the full drop and that was it! I hated the creepiness of the place, which I know is perfect for the theming, but again, why should I scare myself on purpose for a ride I won't enjoy? I mean, I'm already going to be scaring myself silly with those creepy buffalo/bison in Living with the Land! I don't like the ghosts, I don't like the CMs. I'll stay far away from this ride!

Of course, can't have an installment without pictures. Yes, I know I didn't put pics in the last installment! I'm blaming the stomach virus germs!

Hey! Look at that! I guess there was a time when I wasn't afraid of the characters! Love the crossbody strap? It was for one of those big water bottles. I remember when everyone used those; I felt so adult and very cool having one of my own.

Not only do I have the awesome fanny pack, I also have the hat with the brim going straight across! I guess back then we weren't into bending them a little!

I grew up on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So many cut-outs for picture opportunities.

My brother loved them more than I did. We used to watch the cartoon every Saturday morning.

I remember my brother really didn't want to get in this last one. I wish our parents encouraged weirdness and told me to pose in a dancing move for this pic.

 

[TokyoDina]

Wow really? I had to get my gallbladder removed about two years ago. That's why I became a vegetarian. I suddenly could not digest meat after it was taken out.

So the doctor tried to give me something to help me digest my food better. But I had a server allergic reaction to it. I told him no more meds and then found a lot of other people had similiar problems and becoming vegetarian cleared them up. So that's what happened to me. Technically I'm a Pescatarian because I can still fit fish in my life but it's great that all the pain and suffering is gone.

Wow I'm so sorry that you've had to live with all those problems for so long....

 

[SoonerGirl]

For TSMM I always go past the Sorcerer's hat on the right, down the stairs, then turn left. If there is a faster way to get there I don't know what it is

Beauty and the Beast is a good show, definitely make time for that. And of course, if you think a ride is going to make you feel sick you shouldn't ride it - there is no reason to ruin the rest of your day!

 

[wdwgirl03]

OMG, I so remember when they had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! hahaha. We even have a picture of one of them with some random girl...we thought my cousin would appreciate that at the time(the turtle, not the girl. LOL!).

 

[stacy347]

I love those sentences from your students, very sweet!

VOTLM is one of my favorite things at DHS, and Ursula is awesome in it! But, if you are freaked out by sea creatures I can definitely see it being an issue. If you do decide to go see it, try sitting more toward the back...you can still see the show and get the special effects, but you wouldn't be close enough to the characters to really feel trapped I think.

Beauty and the Beast is another favorite ~ the performers are consistently amazing, IMO.

Loving all of the pics ~ thanks again for sharing!

 

[RachelNinja]

Wow really? I had to get my gallbladder removed about two years ago. That's why I became a vegetarian. I suddenly could not digest meat after it was taken out.

So the doctor tried to give me something to help me digest my food better. But I had a server allergic reaction to it. I told him no more meds and then found a lot of other people had similiar problems and becoming vegetarian cleared them up. So that's what happened to me. Technically I'm a Pescatarian because I can still fit fish in my life but it's great that all the pain and suffering is gone.

Wow I'm so sorry that you've had to live with all those problems for so long....

Wow, I didn't know that such drastic dietary changes sometimes had to be made! I'm careful with how much fat I intake at once; I also don't crave unhealthy foods the same way I used to because I associate them with the pain from having a gallbladder attack. I guess being Asian makes it easier to deal with the gallbladder thing because we don't have much meat anyway, and we eat fish more often than most other families. Plus, when we go out to restaurants, I got used to ordering fish because it was something that wouldn't get me sick.

How much easier is life with a messed up gallbladder though?!? I hated those attacks and having doctors unable to give me an answer! Mine didn't have stones and it was the right size and everything so the tests never showed anything. It was only until I went for a HIDA scan. Years of pain and temporary relief from medicine and now there was an answer! My gallbladder wasn't functioning at all; I forgot the percentage but it was really low. I just wanted it out!

Did it take a while for you to find out it was your gallbladder?

For TSMM I always go past the Sorcerer's hat on the right, down the stairs, then turn left. If there is a faster way to get there I don't know what it is

Beauty and the Beast is a good show, definitely make time for that. And of course, if you think a ride is going to make you feel sick you shouldn't ride it - there is no reason to ruin the rest of your day!

Thanks for the info! I'm so excited to get there! Navigating a "new" park is going to be a little nerve-wracking though!

Good advice ... I don't want to feel as if I'm skipping a ride because I'm "chicken," but since it's fear of feeling sick, there really is no reason to get on!

OMG, I so remember when they had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! hahaha. We even have a picture of one of them with some random girl...we thought my cousin would appreciate that at the time(the turtle, not the girl. LOL!).

I remember waiting to get pictures with the actual costumed TMNT! I'll post those eventually; I only got 3 out of the 4. They had the show where they danced on stage too!

I love those sentences from your students, very sweet!

VOTLM is one of my favorite things at DHS, and Ursula is awesome in it! But, if you are freaked out by sea creatures I can definitely see it being an issue. If you do decide to go see it, try sitting more toward the back...you can still see the show and get the special effects, but you wouldn't be close enough to the characters to really feel trapped I think.

Beauty and the Beast is another favorite ~ the performers are consistently amazing, IMO.

Loving all of the pics ~ thanks again for sharing!

Good advice; I'll probably be one of the few people who will want to sit all the way in the back. I'm sure if I do try going, Weird will "protect" me too so I'll feel safe

I used to think about how amazing it would be to work on Broadway. I don't have a Broadway solo voice, but I'd love to be part of an ensemble. Being part of the ensemble in a DHS show would be better though because although it's not as "famous," it's in Disney World!

 

[RachelNinja]

DHS Research - Other

These are the things that don't really belong in a specific section but are definitely things I want to see or do!

(1) Citizens of Hollywood - Streetmosphere

AllEars says that the Streetmosphere characters are mainly found on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards. I might be a little nervous to stand really close to them because I know they sometimes pull people in to interact, and I wouldn't want to look like a complete moron if I get nervous and don't know how to respond, haha. But I really want to see a few of them perform because I know those are sometimes the most fun times to be had! I mean, I absolutely loved watching Romeo and Edna in Italy in Epcot, and that was an unplanned thing. We used to always pass by these shows, but obviously if it's from Disney, it's gotta be good, right?

(2) Al's Toy Barn

I don't really hear anyone mention this place. I know it's just a facade, and I don't really need to meet the characters, I just really want to see the place! I know there have been pictures of a silly-looking shopping cart ... a cow? If that's all still there, it might provide great picture opportunities!

(3) High School Musical 3

No doubt about it, I really want to see this! I love all the songs from HSM3, and I think it was definitely the best movie out of the 3. I mean, the first one was good, but all the hype was just too much. The second one was just ... I don't know, it wasn't good. I didn't like the songs or the storyline. The third one is definitely my favorite! I know that the people in the show are just performers and they don't have anything to do with the actual movie, but that goes to show how much I love the music! I listen to it when I'm doing my lesson plans.

(4) Fantasmic

I'd love to see this show, but considering the time at night, it might be a little difficult. I don't know if I can last that long and then deal with the massive crowds trying to leave DHS at night. It's also one of those shows that requires you to be there an hour before. I know it'd be smart to get food and eat it during that time, but who knows if it'll actually work out. I think Fantasmic is one of those things that we may end up having to see when we're on our Disneymoon and we can just make up our schedule and plans as we go.

Ok, random question for those of you who know DHS ... I've heard that the CS places, like ABC Commissary, aren't that great. Which CS would you recommend other than Pizza Planet (not very into having pizza in Disney, I don't know why)?

Now it's time for pictures! Soon I'm going to be all out ... oh no! I haven't had time to dig for more; haha, why does life have to get in the way of Disney-ing?!?

I know I posted this in my old TR, but don't you love my hair?

Family photo in Epcot. Don't you love my parents' outfits?

Another family photo! I think it's funny that my mom was very into making sure that my brother and I matched well, down to our socks, shoes, and hair ties/hats. I guess it makes sense though because parents still do it now with their kids (DISboutiquers and all!).

 

[Jennifer48]

My singing voice is far from mellifluous, but when Miss Ninja and Kevin Paul sing, angels vomit flowers (in a good way).

This one made me laugh. Vomit flowers in a good way?!

There is a good CS area by the Back Lot Tour and I can't remember what its called. They have sandwiches there and other things besides the usual burgers. Its good!

 

[SoonerGirl]

We didn't make it over to that part of the park this last trip so I'm not 100% positive on this, but I think Al's Toy Barn was rethemed to Luigi's Garage and is now the meet & greet spot for Lightening McQueen & Tow Mater.

 

[TokyoDina]

Wow, I didn't know that such drastic dietary changes sometimes had to be made! I'm careful with how much fat I intake at once; I also don't crave unhealthy foods the same way I used to because I associate them with the pain from having a gallbladder attack. I guess being Asian makes it easier to deal with the gallbladder thing because we don't have much meat anyway, and we eat fish more often than most other families. Plus, when we go out to restaurants, I got used to ordering fish because it was something that wouldn't get me sick.

How much easier is life with a messed up gallbladder though?!? I hated those attacks and having doctors unable to give me an answer! Mine didn't have stones and it was the right size and everything so the tests never showed anything. It was only until I went for a HIDA scan. Years of pain and temporary relief from medicine and now there was an answer! My gallbladder wasn't functioning at all; I forgot the percentage but it was really low. I just wanted it out!

Did it take a while for you to find out it was your gallbladder?

First off! Your mom was totally fashionable for the 80's! I still have that thing with everything having to match right down to the necklace I choose to wear that day. And if it doesn't match no necklace! Haha! I love how fashionable your mom is/was.

On to the Gallbladder. I had the problem for about a year. At first it was just not being able to keep things in my system. So as soon as I ate something I'd have to rush to the restroom....which sucked! Then the pain started about six months before they realized what was going on. It felt like someone was trying to stab me with an ice pick in between my ribs. I'd been eating like I normally did. At the time I never ate fish, but I had poultry and small amounts of beef. Then of course every time I ate something fatty I'd have an attack. So at first they told me I had a stomach infection, called H. Pylori. They gave me a bunch of antibiotics then sent me on my way. The pain went away for a week while I was on the antibiotics then the next thing you know it's back. So, they referred me to a specialist and they injected me with nuclear medicine. I was glowing I'm sure of it! Ha! Come to find out no stones......just my gall bladder decided to stop working completely. The test was cool cause they made me eat chocolate while they watched the radioactive dye go around my body. Once they saw that it wasn't working the gall bladder had to go.

I got Laparoscopic surgery. Which was great cause my scars are really small....but the trade was I still had problems with meat. So I think I said before my husband told me to try to become a vegetarian. In my experience. Many people that loose they gall bladder seem to have this problem. Not all but a lot. So it's not by choice. But I've switched my diet more towards what my husband grew up eating which is Asian food. So more fish has entered into my diet. I'm glad I can digest that.

Ultimately since it's been gone. I noticed that I eat a lot more healthier...but people always think I do it for the animals which can get annoying sometimes.

 

[Bridora]

Wow! I used to looove Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I did not know they were even in WDW. I would have loved to have seen that!

As for CS places in DHS, I don't dislike ABC Commissary. The Backlot Express is another one we go to. I would just check out the menus online and go from there, depending on what sounds good to you. Pizza Planet is just pizza and salad. We go there, too, because the kids like it.

It's been several years since I've seen the Beauty and the Beast show, but I enjoyed it! DH did not. 'Bonjour' is my favorite song/scene in the movie. Loooove it! I used to roller skate around my parent's garage to the soundtrack. And of course, I sang along!

 

[HowWeird]

We didn't make it over to that part of the park this last trip so I'm not 100% positive on this, but I think Al's Toy Barn was rethemed to Luigi's Garage and is now the meet & greet spot for Lightening McQueen & Tow Mater.

If this is true, I'm so excited. SO INCREDIBLY excited.

 

[Jennifer48]

If this is true, I'm so excited. SO INCREDIBLY excited.

It is true!

This is from December 2008

 

[TokyoDina]

Whhhaaat I so have to go find that!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Awww, I love that old picture! So cute!

The HSM pep rally is a lot of fun.

As for the CS places at DHS, we really hardly ever eat there and when we do it's at Pizza Planet. Though we did try out the Backlot Express (it's right near Star Tours) and that was pretty good. Other than that I have no suggestions.

 

[irky416]

All caught up! I got distracted with some things going on and haven't had much time for the DIS recently.

I love your old pictures!!!! You were such a cute kid!

I also really like your bag. I have been considering a LeSportSac for awhile, but don't really need it, so I couldn't justify the price. You'll have to let me know how it works out for you! (Although, I did buy the Disney D&B wristlet that they have in the parks. A LeSportSac probably would have been cheaper!)

Can I just say that I am totally jealous of the sentences your students write with vocab words. You should see the ones mine come up with. Next time they do it, I'll have to remember to post some of the better ones!

All your DHS updates are making me want to go back! That's my favorite park!

 

[RachelNinja]

This one made me laugh. Vomit flowers in a good way?!

There is a good CS area by the Back Lot Tour and I can't remember what its called. They have sandwiches there and other things besides the usual burgers. Its good!

Haha, I know! I don't know how my kids think of these things. I was definitely not creative AND humorous when writing vocabulary sentences in middle school!

Thanks for the suggestion! I like having things other than burgers at the parks, but even if we have to eat burgers, we don't mind. We're pretty easygoing. I just know that I've read many bad reviews of ABC.

We didn't make it over to that part of the park this last trip so I'm not 100% positive on this, but I think Al's Toy Barn was rethemed to Luigi's Garage and is now the meet & greet spot for Lightening McQueen & Tow Mater.

Oh right! That makes sense because I know that there's a new area for pics with Buzz and Woody that looks like Andy's room. I haven't seen the Al's Toy Barn thing in a while, but I saw it on AllEars, so I figured it was just hidden away somewhere!

First off! Your mom was totally fashionable for the 80's! I still have that thing with everything having to match right down to the necklace I choose to wear that day. And if it doesn't match no necklace! Haha! I love how fashionable your mom is/was.

On to the Gallbladder. I had the problem for about a year. At first it was just not being able to keep things in my system. So as soon as I ate something I'd have to rush to the restroom....which sucked! Then the pain started about six months before they realized what was going on. It felt like someone was trying to stab me with an ice pick in between my ribs. I'd been eating like I normally did. At the time I never ate fish, but I had poultry and small amounts of beef. Then of course every time I ate something fatty I'd have an attack. So at first they told me I had a stomach infection, called H. Pylori. They gave me a bunch of antibiotics then sent me on my way. The pain went away for a week while I was on the antibiotics then the next thing you know it's back. So, they referred me to a specialist and they injected me with nuclear medicine. I was glowing I'm sure of it! Ha! Come to find out no stones......just my gall bladder decided to stop working completely. The test was cool cause they made me eat chocolate while they watched the radioactive dye go around my body. Once they saw that it wasn't working the gall bladder had to go.

I got Laparoscopic surgery. Which was great cause my scars are really small....but the trade was I still had problems with meat. So I think I said before my husband told me to try to become a vegetarian. In my experience. Many people that loose they gall bladder seem to have this problem. Not all but a lot. So it's not by choice. But I've switched my diet more towards what my husband grew up eating which is Asian food. So more fish has entered into my diet. I'm glad I can digest that.

Ultimately since it's been gone. I noticed that I eat a lot more healthier...but people always think I do it for the animals which can get annoying sometimes.

Ooo, I had the H.Pylori thing too and had medicine for that. It seemed to help for a little while, just like it did for you, but then I was still getting sick. Every time I went to the doctor and had the endoscopy, colonoscopy, CT scan, barium x-ray, etc. stuff done, they seemed to find new problems that had to be treated. But even with those things being treated, the gallbladder was still messing with me, and they didn't know.

So cool that you had to eat chocolate! I've never had a "fun" thing to ingest. I'd rather get shots and IVs instead of ingesting stuff. When I had the 20oz or so of cranberry juice with the iodine in it for a CT scan, I kept shaking from drinking so much. I couldn't stop. But that wasn't as bad as the barium. Blech! It was disgusting and chalky, and they had to bring the garbage pail over just in case I threw it back up.

My scars are small and almost gone at this point. The only thing I hate is that my bellybutton never went back in to look normal. Well, normal for me. Now it looks like I have a half innie, half outie! Thankfully, I don't wear bikinis anyway!

Wow! I used to looove Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I did not know they were even in WDW. I would have loved to have seen that!

As for CS places in DHS, I don't dislike ABC Commissary. The Backlot Express is another one we go to. I would just check out the menus online and go from there, depending on what sounds good to you. Pizza Planet is just pizza and salad. We go there, too, because the kids like it.

It's been several years since I've seen the Beauty and the Beast show, but I enjoyed it! DH did not. 'Bonjour' is my favorite song/scene in the movie. Loooove it! I used to roller skate around my parent's garage to the soundtrack. And of course, I sang along!

Yeah, I'll definitely be checking out the menus. Just read that some CS places are generally better than others, and if I have the option, I'd rather not aimlessly walk arond trying to find any place that sells mediocre food.

Haha, love the rollerskating story. I used to rollerskate downstairs in our basement with my Barbie skates (with curly ribbons on it!) at also pretend that I was a teacher because I'd go around the "classroom."

If this is true, I'm so excited. SO INCREDIBLY excited.

Haha, this is probably the only character meet and greet photo opportunity thing that we are DEFINITELY going to have to do!

It is true!

This is from December 2008

Thanks for the clarification! Weird LOVES Cars. He can spot Cars merchandise a mile away. When we go to the Disney Store, we look at everything together before he gets to the Cars section and gets lost in wonderment.

Whhhaaat I so have to go find that!

I wish they still had the Stars and Motor Cars parade now; I've seen pictures of it a long time ago and was really excited to see that! I typically don't care for parades, but that would've been one to see ... Lightning and Mater were in it!

Awww, I love that old picture! So cute!

The HSM pep rally is a lot of fun.

As for the CS places at DHS, we really hardly ever eat there and when we do it's at Pizza Planet. Though we did try out the Backlot Express (it's right near Star Tours) and that was pretty good. Other than that I have no suggestions.

I was talking to Weird about about I listen to HSM3 all the time while I'm doing lesson plans, but I still don't know the words because I'm concentrating. I know phrases and stuff, but not whole songs. Weird knows whole songs though! I think it's great that I have such a silly DBF who also enjoys HSM3!

All caught up! I got distracted with some things going on and haven't had much time for the DIS recently.

I love your old pictures!!!! You were such a cute kid!

I also really like your bag. I have been considering a LeSportSac for awhile, but don't really need it, so I couldn't justify the price. You'll have to let me know how it works out for you! (Although, I did buy the Disney D&B wristlet that they have in the parks. A LeSportSac probably would have been cheaper!)

Can I just say that I am totally jealous of the sentences your students write with vocab words. You should see the ones mine come up with. Next time they do it, I'll have to remember to post some of the better ones!

All your DHS updates are making me want to go back! That's my favorite park!

Hehe, having your DBF become your DF is definitely a distraction! Yesterday I was bugging Weird (as I always do) about whether or not he's going to propose in Disney because part of me wants to know, but part of me also wants to be surprised. I'm such a silly about it! I gave some pretty convincing reasons though ... you know, how many people have the chance to be at WDW at the right time to propose and all especially since we never thought we'd be there until our Disneymoon!

If I see the Disney D&B stuff, I'm going to have to have Weird take good pictures of it on his new camera! That's going to be in the next installment. I'll definitely be commenting on the LeSportSac bag because it'll be such a change for me to have something smaller.

As for the sentences, I had to read through 150 sentences and only pulled out those, haha. I have other kids who say write stuff like, "Sometimes I'm very loquacious." I have to comment (and not give credit, of course) by saying something like, "Not showing you know the definition of the word. How do I know loquacious doesn't mean ugly or smelly or annoying?" Hehe.

I'm getting more and more excited since I'll actually get to do 3 parks this time instead of 2. As nervous as I am about exploring a new park and having no clue where anything is (it's really been that long!), I'm thrilled that I get to see things for the first time!

 

[RachelNinja]

Weird's and Ninja's New Toys!

Wow, I can't believe that I've been away for so long! I've had many things to do though, so please forgive me for neglecting this PTR! If you read the last installment or so, you saw that I had the stomach virus. That meant I was out from work for 2 days, so when I returned to school, I saw this on my desk:

(Sorry, I made the picture really small because I didn't want the words on the papers visible.)

That doesn't seem like a lot, but there were stacks upon stacks of papers, and I even told the substitute to tell the kids to hold on to a lot of it! So that wasn't even everything I had to grade or sort through! Agh, being absent is sometimes more work, but I know I didn't have a choice since I was sick!

Of course, that paperwork is on top of the boxes that I have to grade from both 6th and 8th ELA.

Their book report projects were to make a box of mementos for the main character in their book. I know, I make it harder on myself by not just giving "normal" book reports! But these are more fun to grade (though it's difficult to bring home, so I have to do these in school), and they're more fun for the kids to do.

And let's not forget the few lovely students who fail tests and have horrible averages because they spend their time doing this:

Yes, one of my 6th graders apparently spent time to cut up all that paper. I only saw it when I was moving the desks to straighten them up. Dealing with these students is so tiring at work, and then I have to return home to do plans and grade! As much as I want to update my PTR, it really gets put on the back burner for a while.

Anyway, all that to say, I've been and still am extremely busy! I did, however, want to mention this! HowWeird finally bought an SLR camera! I can't tell you what model it is because I really don't have a clue, but it's a Canon. Haha, that's all I know. I'm sure he'll chime in and clarify. It takes such great photos. They're so clear, and I know that it'll be great to have in Disney because we're going to be taking a ton! Or should I say "tone" because some of my kids don't seem to know the difference ...

Isn't it beautiful though? The fun thing for me is that (1) even I can take good picture on the camera ... hehe, as long as I keep it on Auto and (2) because he has this camera, I now have his digital! It's much smaller than mine with more options, so I'm really enjoying it even though I've only had it for a day. It's still technically Weird's; it won't be legitimately mine until we're married He may need a point and shoot once in a while, but for the most part, I'll be the one using it now.

I'm really excited about it because it'll mean my camera won't make my new bag so heavy and it won't take up that much space. Plus, it'll be easier to even just hang it on my wrist since it's lighter so it can be ready at all times for pictures!

So many buttons on this guy, but the picture quality is great. Weird's learning all the manual stuff though, or at least he's trying to learn it! He actually went with one of our friends after church to go shoot pictures in the city.

Weird's really happy with it because he's been eyeing it for a really long time, and there was a sudden drop in price (about $100) so he got it.

I took the camera upstairs when I changed back into sweats. This is a very typical "fancy camera pose," but it doesn't really work for me because (1) I used auto and that left it looking yellow since I didn't adjust anything, (2) my room is messy (but you can see some of my penguins in the corner that I got from students), (3) my full-length mirror is dirty since I haven't wiped it down recently, and (4) I'm making the oddest face ...

Well, I guess that's all I can write about right now since it's time to get back to work! I guess it's time to say goodbye! Quiche, one of my smaller penguins, wants to say goodbye too!

(I took this using Weird's camera! How clear! Hehe.)

 

[TokyoDina]

I'm glad you are feeling better!!!!!!!!! I hate being sick!

I agree with you with the belly button. They changed mine to....okay well I healed funny. But it used to be more open and now it's shifted and I love a little scar that goes from the bottom of it down. I hate the bigger on where the stuck the camera inside. It looks like a pair of lips resting on my stomach. (Kind of sucky for me since I'm a Belly Dancer....but I'm growing to accept them)

Wow your such a cool teacher all your projects would be 100% fun to make/do!